Tesla infotainment system upgradeable from MCU1 to MCU2

[kavyboy]

You can request it, but they'll say it's not available. I had my MCU replaced recently (see sig line). Some folks have chosen to wait, but you how good Tesla is with keeping commitments on when something will be available. SO if you don't mind being without your car, then wait. Otherwise, I would get it fixed now. Even if it were available now, you'd lose your AM/FM radio, so like many of the firmware update, this hardware upgrade is also a downgrade in some respects.

Thanks. I haven't driven it in weeks, and was even considering just dropping insurance for now, so I can definitely wait.
The only time I've ever used the actual radio was 1) to try it just to do it and 2) when it would come on randomly at the start of a drive and require me to switch it off. No big loss there for me personally.

 

[drklain]

I wouldn't recommend dropping your insurance just because you aren't driving due to the COVID crisis. Dropping insurance means you have no insurance if something happens to the car while parked, you likely run afoul of laws requiring cars to have insurance to have a valid registration (at least in some states, insurers are required to notify the state DMV when insurance is cancelled/terminated), etc. Most auto insurers are giving some sort of credit right now due to low utilization anyway. Is saving a couple of bucks worth the risk of having no coverage?

 

[joseacosta3245]

@zanary - Thanks for the detailed report.. very helpful and all good news.

I have my appointment on Thursday for my upgrade, just got the “reminder” text, so it looks like they dint cancel my appointment like some thought they would (may still happen) as I initiated it from my end (no invite). Like you, I am on a 2017 100 with 2.5 and MCU1 including FSD that was purchased when I got the car.

How far in advance did you get the cost info emailed to you for your appointment? I checked my scheduled appointment in my app and it shows it is on the second step “preparing your cost estimate”. I know how much it will be obviously, just looking for that as a final confirmation that it is a go.

Do you have to request the upgrade?

 

[FlatSix911]

Correct. When you do the Infotainment upgrade, you lose all radio (FM, AM, Satellite Radio).
URL = Tesla confirms infotainment system upgradeability from MCU1 to MCU2 for $2500

Looks like Tesla could have kept FM and XM but the labor involved and the new digital tuner cost (can't use the old one) were prohibitive. It is unclear how much trouble it would be to try yourself or a third party to make the retrofit work with the digital tuner. Besides the new part and difficult labor there may be a software configuration change that most of us are not able to do. No new Tesla tuners have AM.

Correct, however, this brave soul did the entire MCU2 upgrade including the radio tuner... major respect given.

I retrofit MCU2, IC2, Tuner2, and FSD Computer into my HW2.0 Car

 

[zanary]

Do you have to request the upgrade?

Yup. Make an appointment from the app and if your VIN qualifies they will keep your appointment. If not then they will contact you.

 

[Robotpedlr]

Do you have to request the upgrade?

yes as others have said, just book the appt through your app and request the infotainment upgrade if you qualify (you have hw2.5, and purchased FSD).

My upgrade happened without issue and I think it was definitely worth the $2,500.

 

[rjscoder]

FWIW the retrofit on an ap1/0 car will work, but no gps when the retrofit is complete. Your car wil be stuck at fremont CA

Also the speed limit sign is in a round circle, and no lane markings show

https://i.imgur.com/uVNKBTA.mp4

 

[kavyboy]

FWIW the retrofit on an ap1/0 car will work, but no gps when the retrofit is complete. Your car wil be stuck at fremont CA

Also the speed limit sign is in a round circle, and no lane markings show

https://i.imgur.com/uVNKBTA.mp4

Can anyone confirm? This just seems like a broken GPS.

 

[rjscoder]

Can anyone confirm? This just seems like a broken GPS.

Factory mcu2 cars don't have a gps antenna where the cid resides, their antenna resides at the APE unit further away. This means they never intended on using the ublox gps on-board mcu2.

On ap2+ cars, tesla uses the gps board of the ape (thats where the gps antenna is plugged into).

For ap1/0 cars, since there's no APE, tesla hasn't coded the mcu2 gps to use the on-board ublox. That's why they haven't started doing ap1/0 cars yet, they must have run into issues using it. So I plugged the gps antenna into the ape port on the back of cid (where the gps antenna would normally go on mcu1)

Would love if someone else could confirm; as far as I know, I'm the only one that's done this retrofit on ap1

 

[kavyboy]

Factory mcu2 cars don't have a gps antenna where the cid resides, their antenna resides at the APE unit further away. This means they never intended on using the ublox gps on-board mcu2.

On ap2+ cars, tesla uses the gps board of the ape (thats where the gps antenna is plugged into).

For ap1/0 cars, since there's no APE, tesla hasn't coded the mcu2 gps to use the on-board ublox. That's why they haven't started doing ap1/0 cars yet, they must have run into issues using it. So I plugged the gps antenna into the ape port on the back of cid (where the gps antenna would normally go on mcu1)

Would love if someone else could confirm; as far as I know, I'm the only one that's done this retrofit on ap1

Ah, thank you. I love the explanation and it makes sense now. No radio is fine for me. No GPS is a deal-breaker. I hope they get it worked out.

 

[Barry]

FWIW the retrofit on an ap1/0 car will work, but no gps when the retrofit is complete. Your car wil be stuck at fremont CA

Also the speed limit sign is in a round circle, and no lane markings show

https://i.imgur.com/uVNKBTA.mp4

That video makes me dizzy

 

[SO16]

I wouldn't recommend dropping your insurance just because you aren't driving due to the COVID crisis. Dropping insurance means you have no insurance if something happens to the car while parked, you likely run afoul of laws requiring cars to have insurance to have a valid registration (at least in some states, insurers are required to notify the state DMV when insurance is cancelled/terminated), etc. Most auto insurers are giving some sort of credit right now due to low utilization anyway. Is saving a couple of bucks worth the risk of having no coverage?

I put mine on “storage” insurance through farmers. Huge difference in price in Michigan anyway. That’s what I also do in the winter months as long as I’m not driving it. Still have coverage in case of damage while parked.

 

[MP3Mike]

FWIW the retrofit on an ap1/0 car will work, but no gps when the retrofit is complete. Your car wil be stuck at fremont CA

Also the speed limit sign is in a round circle, and no lane markings show

https://i.imgur.com/uVNKBTA.mp4

You can't say that as Tesla hasn't done any of these yet and you don't know what Tesla will include in the retrofit kit for AP0/1 vehicles.

 

[rjscoder]

You can't say that as Tesla hasn't done any of these yet and you don't know what Tesla will include in the retrofit kit for AP0/1 vehicles.

They don't need to "include" anything, what they need to do is release firmware for mcu2 that supports ap1 . It's purely a software issue

 

[verygreen]

Factory mcu2 cars don't have a gps antenna where the cid resides, their antenna resides at the APE unit further away. This means they never intended on using the ublox gps on-board mcu2.

well. They placedthe chip there for compatibility reasons.

Sure they are not using it now, but I am sure they planned for ap1 compatibility. That it does not work yet just means they need to do some more fixes (Also why this configuration is not yet offered for retrofits).

Note that mcu1s for hw2.x units taht require ap1 harness repin also originally never used onboard ublox yet it works when plugged into ap1 cars

 

[YellowSpringer]

Does the proprietary OBD-II dongle still dangle below the touchscreen after MCU2 upgrade?

 

[KyleDay]

Does the proprietary OBD-II dongle still dangle below the touchscreen after MCU2 upgrade?

Yes

 

[bob_p]

Tesla should offer the MCU2 radio as a reasonably priced extra price option for the Infotainment Upgrade.

Even if it is difficult to do, Tesla owners shouldn't be penalized because Tesla's design made the MCU2 radio replacement difficult.

When we owned a Lexus LS 460, the company issued a mandatory recall on valve springs for the engine. The recall required a major effort to remove the engine from the vehicle in order to get enough access to all of the valve springs for the replacement. Lexus absorbed the increased labor cost.

For MCU1 Tesla owners that want to do the Infotainment Upgrade and keep FM/HD/XM radio, Tesla should at least offer an option for upgrading the MCU2 radio (additional $1K?).

 

[rjscoder]

Tesla should offer the MCU2 radio as a reasonably priced extra price option for the Infotainment Upgrade.

Even if it is difficult to do, Tesla owners shouldn't be penalized because Tesla's design made the MCU2 radio replacement difficult.

For MCU1 Tesla owners that want to do the Infotainment Upgrade and keep FM/HD/XM radio, Tesla should at least offer an option for upgrading the MCU2 radio (additional $1K?).

I agree, it's not even all that difficult to install. They're already pulling out the entire MCU & IC, so the least they can do is run some basic wiring to the tuner2 location. They even have a mount adapter that plugs right up into tuner1 location to install tuner2 nice and snug

 

[Art VandeIay]

For MCU1 Tesla owners that want to do the Infotainment Upgrade and keep FM/HD/XM radio, Tesla should at least offer an option for upgrading the MCU2 radio

This!!!!
I totally agree with you. For some, listening to their FM stations on TuneIn may be a perfect solution after losing their FM/XM tuner, but for me, this is not an option.

The thing is, Tesla is being a d*ck about this, and even if we do the radio tuner swap ourselves (as I'm planning to do anyway) before or after the Infotainment Upgrade, we still need to beg on our knees for them to update the car configuration on: /var/etc/gateway in order for the new MCU2 to be able to detect the swapped digital radio tuner.

They even have a mount adapter that plugs right up into tuner1 location to install tuner2 nice and snug

Awesome post @rjscoder!

I'm planning on doing the tuner swap anyways, but I've been wondering, if I buy the new digital tuner from Tesla (as it is a non restricted over the counter part) do I need to source the mount adapter from somewhere else or does it look like it comes attached with the new tuner itself?